Recently, colorful pins and brooches have become more popular than ever, but one trend in Mexico is creepier than charming.
Here comes the maquech, a little metal leash with a pin at the end, a bug covered in rhinestones, affixed to it. It operates in the same manner as a typical brooch but is alive.
Available in an array of different styles, the “live jewelry” is made from large, flightless beetles most commonly found in South America and Mexico. The metal chain forces the beetle to stay on whatever he’s pinned to, and the thick stones glued onto his back weigh him down.
These depressing brooches were well-known in the 1980s when they started showing up in tourist stores all across Yucatán, Mexico. They are claimed to have their roots in an old legend about a princess whose forbidden lover was miraculously transformed into a glittering beetle so she could keep him close even after he was given the death penalty.
However, some contend that the story is really a marketing gimmick.
The blinged-up bugs are often housed in huge plastic containers in stores before being offered to visitors for around $10. Although there isn’t much information about maquech numbers in the wild, the fact that they are frequently taken from their homes to be used as products isn’t encouraging.
While this hardy species of beetle can live up to four years, it’s likely they don’t survive more than a few months — if that — as a brooch due to stress and lack of proper care.
If you’re ever visiting the Yucatán and spot maquechs for sale, remember that these animals are much better off in the wild where they belong — free of chains and glittery stones.
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